2015: The Year in Film: "Avengers: Age of Ultron" Review

So, if you're new to this blog and/or the idea of me, let me inform you: I'm a Marvel nerd and have been since at least 1990. I'm a Joss Whedon nerd. (I have a "Firefly" art print hanging in my living room) The first Avengers is one of my favorite movies and I feel one of the more watchable flicks of recent years. So, I'm pretty much this flick's target audience. If you don't like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (in which case, quit being such a spoilsport), Joss Whedon, or the first Avengers, you should bear what I just told you in mind while reading this review, and my review of all things Marvel. ("Daredevil" is awesome too guys!)

So, the Marvel Universe is one of the great successful experiments of our time. They've managed to, through 11 movies now and counting, (The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Thor, Thor 2, Captain America, Captain America 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers) create what we would have thought just 10 years ago was impossible - a cohesive comic book-style universe through a number of related and interconnecting movies. They've done this by hiring a number of talented filmmakers and by hitting home runs with all of their casting decisions. (they grabbed Robert Downey Jr. off of the scrap heap and turned him into the biggest movie star on the planet) Above all, they've done it through a commitment to quality. Even the worst Marvel movies (looking at you, Iron Man 2 and Thor) are better than your average superhero fare, and they remain pretty darn watchable, despite their flaws.

Enter: Avengers: Age of Ultron. We're shown that our heroes have been kicking ass and taking names off-screen since their last adventure, as they are clearly much more of a team now than they ever were in their first go-around. The Avengers are hunting Hydra and searching for Loki's staff around the globe as they strive to keep the world safe.

The Good: Marvel can make these movies in their sleep at this point, and Joss knows how to write his way around an ensemble. The leads are so charismatic, RDJ and Evans in particular, and the characters so well-established and rounded after multiple movies that everything just sort of rounds into place. New characters are effectively introduced (Vision is especially memorable) while existing characters continue to have their development moved forward. (except for Thor, who really gets the shaft in both Avengers movies) The film's villain, Ultron, an evil artificial intelligence voiced by James Spader, is a better villain than most of Marvel's villains up to this point, and Spader fleshes out Ultron with a gleeful menace that really brings a sense of desperation to the plot. The action sequences are impressive, and the presence of a menacing villain really ups the stakes. (Let's be real, as fun as Loki is, he was never a match for the Avengers once they got together) This film is darker than any Marvel film to date - but still manages to poke Zack Snyder and DC in the eye by having the Avengers go out of their way to save as many civilians as possible.



The Bad: This flick is totally and utterly overstuffed and you can tell significant cuts were made in spots to keep the runtime manageable. As a result, parts of the film feel rushed and the plot jumps around in spots. I blame Iron Man 3, and here's why: Ultron is created by Tony Stark in an effort to keep the world safe. That's KIND OF what the plot of Iron Man 3 was, but it's also not, really... and Stark developing AI that would ultimately become Ultron would have 1.) made Iron Man 3 all the better in the grand scheme of the MCU and 2.) meant that this flick wouldn't have needed so much background to create its villain. Since the first third of the film is setting up Ultron, the rest of the plot (introducing new Avengers, saving the world, etc.) feels rushed and under-served, and there just isn't enough of the meaty part of the film. Somewhere there's a 3 hr. plus director's cut of this film, and that's the one I want to see. Additionally, this flick kind of feels like a placeholder. It doesn't significantly advance the "infinity gem" storyline that had gained so much momentum through Thor 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy and as a result it feels like it's Marvel treading water before the main event comes in a few years.

Ultimately, this is a well-done, fun, quality, if flawed, addition to the Marvel Universe. It's not the crowning achievement that its predecessor was, but that would have made Joss Whedon an all-time legend, so I'm happy with what it is - a fun time at the movies with a lot of fun characters, cool moments and quality actors. As a Marvel superfan, I'm happy, but not thrilled.

8/10.

2012: The Year in Film: "The Cabin in the Woods" Review

This is Joss Whedon's coming out party in the movies. First, this flick, that has been delayed several times, which Whedon co-wrote with protege Drew Goddard (who got his start writing on Buffy and has been involved in many nerd-tastic JJ Abrams projects since..), who also directs. Of course, Whedon also wrote and directed "The Avengers" which comes out in a couple of weeks. Good for him. Now I know I don't do much horror around here.. it's just not my genre. I find horror to be contrived, cliched, predictable and often unnecessarily gruesome simply for gore's sake. I have a rule, and that's that generally I don't watch things that I can completely figure out from a one minute trailer. That covers horror, romantic comedies, the type of action movies that Jason Statham stars in and shitty Adam Sandler-style comedies. In addition, I'm not frightened by the supernatural and/or things that are impossible. A lot of movie horror consists of atmospheric creepiness (tense music and things popping out at you) and preposterous, unbelievable situations. But horror can be great when done well and avoiding tropes.. "The Exorcist", "Silence of the Lambs" and "Alien" all come to mind, but many would argue that the latter to are more thriller and sci-fi than straight horror. But anyway, Whedon's involvement immediately piqued my interest, and then I started seeing that the flick was getting rave reviews (currently at 92% on RT), so I decided to check out this flick that's been getting so much buzz in the fanboy community.

First, this movie turns the horror genre on its head. It uses its premise to directly attack/mock typical horror movie tropes and situations, and really is quite funny, quite often. Despite how the trailer may appear, this is far from your typical slasher flick. There are layers and twists that make this much more than even a knowing horror attempt. It is at once quite meta and self aware, and at the same time making a legitimate attempt at constructing a story despite its acknowledgment of the problems of the genre. I am going to avoid spoilers in this review, because I avoided them myself prior to seeing it and really think it added to my enjoyment.



Using the traditional tropes of horror films (the jock, the slut, the brainy one, the stoner/goofball, the "good girl") allows for effective horror on one level while simultaneously making a mockery of the genre on another AND creating a cohesive narrative at the same time. The chutzpah of these guys, I'll tell you. The cast is strong, despite being limited by the constructs of the narrative.. particularly Kristen Connolly (Dana, the "good girl"). Of interesting note is that this flick sat for 3 years due to MGM's bankruptcy, so Chris "Thor" Hemsworth appears here in a supporting role. There are many extremely funny parts, which is to be expected with Whedon, but I laughed hard several times, and was legitimately frightened several times.. so good for this movie. This movie tries to do a lot of things and be a lot of things and doesn't necessarily knock each of these efforts out of the park.. but I applaud the hell out of them for even swinging. (too much baseball?) This sort of filmmaking is to be applauded.

I apologize for being quite vague with this review.. but I really don't want to spoil what's going on.. it will take a lot of the fun out of it. But it works as a horror movie, as a send-up of horror movies, as a simply fun movie, and as an overarching narrative of its own. My complaints are, simply, that at time it's a little TOO knowing and tries a bit TOO hard, and that I kind of sort of hated the ending.. rather strongly. In addition, and maybe this isn't entirely fair to hold against the flick.. but when you're making a smart, knowing movie, the dumb plot holes seem especially glaring. There are several that make no sense. Despite these criticisms, all in all, this a fun time at the movies. I had a blast.

7.5/10. If the ending was different, I'd be giving it an 8.5. It's good, a lot of fun, and well worth a watch. Check it out, you won't regret it.. as long as you know this isn't your typical horror flick.